Cap



May 22, 1962 J. KRYSTAL 3,%5,2?3

CAP

Filed May 22, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor JOSEPH KRYSTAL BY- f Att'ys May 22, 1962 J. KRYSTAL 3,35,273

CAP

Filed May 22, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor JOSEPH KRYSTAL B tmam 47% M'ys m7 This invention relates to the construction of caps.

A hat in accordance with the invention comprising material for covering the top of the head, material for covering the sides, front and rear of the head, the material covering said rear being formed of knitted material having the ribs running substantially vertically.

By vertically I mean a direction which by extrapolation would cause each of the lines of the ribs with a similar curvature to intersect the centre of the top of the head. It will be appreciated, in view of the variety of head shapes, that the definition can only be approximate and since the object is to provide a rear covering material which is stretchable circumferentially, an approximation of the definition in any hat will provide the necessary stretchability.

The cap in accordance with the invention with the knitted ribs so oriented, is stretchable to fit heads of differing sizes, and it will be found that a single model will fit substantially all head sizes.

It is known to provide a hat with an elastic insert of rubber or rubberized material which will fit various head sizes. However, the resiliency of rubber base constructions is sufiicient to cause an unpleasant binding action on the head of a wearer during the life of the hat. On the other hand, the resiliency of knitted material is much more limited than its stretchability and a cap made in accordance with the invention, through wear, gradually assumes the dimensions of the head of the wearer. Moreover in a construction using rubber for elasticity, design considerations make it necessary to bring the rubberized construction into contact with the skin, thus creating an undesirable irritating pressure.

In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention:

FIGURES 1 and 2 illustrate a cap in accordance with the invention.

FIGURE 3 illustrates an alternative construction to that shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 although still within the scope of the invention; and

FIGURES 4 and 5 illustrate another alternative construction within the scope of the invention.

Referring first to FIGURES 1 and 2, it will be seen that the cap comprises a peak which forms no part of the present invention and a head covering portion made up of a forward central top section 12 and forward side sections 14 of fabric and a side and rear head covering section 16 of knitted material. The knitted material 16 covers the rear of the head and the ribbing 18 thereof runs vertically. Its lower portion constitutes a yieldable extension which is adapted to cover at least a portion of the neck of a wearer. The arrangement of the ribbing 18 allows the cap to stretch circumferentially of the head to fit various head sizes. The side and rear covering sections, in this case both forming part of knitted material 16, are preferably of a length free to extend to a lower extremity 26* below the ear level so that the ears may be covered as illustrated in FIG- URE 2. The downwardly extending material and the lower extremity 26 are, however, foldable with said lower extremity above the ear level as illustrated in FIGURE 1. The foldable material may be held in the upper position by loops 22 attached thereto which may be placed over buttons 24- conveniently located on the cap.

With the embodiment shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, it has been found that there is a tendency for the ear covering material in the position shown in FIGURE 2 to be stretched away from the ear. The embodiments of FIGURES 3, 4 and 5 show alternative means for ensuring that the ear covering remains in position when the extremity 20 is in its folded down position.

In both alternative embodiments side pieces 26 of non-knitted, non-stretchable material are joined to the knitted rear portion 28, and side portions 26 are of a length to extend to a lower extremity 30 below the ear level. The side portions 26 and the lower extremity 34 with rear portion 16 and lower extremity 20 are foldable above the ear level as with the embodiment of FIG- URE 1.

To further ensure that the ear covering side pieces 26 closely cover the ears, a chin strap 32 may be provided attachable to one of said side portions 26 adjacent the lower extremity 30 thereof, preferably by a dome fastener (not shown). Such a chin strap 32 is suitable for a cap to be worn by a boy but may not be desirable in a hat to be worn by a man.

In FIGURES 4 and 5 is shown a means for ensuring that the ear covering side pieces 26 closely cover the ears but dispensing with the chin strap 32. In the embodiment of FIGURES 4 and 5, each of the side pieces 26 of non-resilient material are joined to the front portion of said hat by strips 34 of resilient material. The strips 34 are preferably formed of knitted material with the ribs 36 running vertically for stretchability. The strips 34 are each joined to the front of the cap and to side pieces 26 adjacent the lower extremity thereof. The side portions are the structural members joining rear knitted portion 28 to strips 34 but for convenience of construction and comfort on the ears, the knitted material of rear portion 28 may be continued forward as a lining for side pieces 26 as illustrated in FIGURE 4.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A cap, including side and top sections of relatively unyieldable material and formed to cover the top, the front, and the sides of the head of a wearer, a peak joined to said sections, said top section having a rearward extremity adapted to coincide substantially with the perimeter of the crown of a wearers head, said side sections each extending downward from their juncture with the top section and having a rearward extremity adapted to terminate adjacent to and rearwardly of the ear of a wearer, and a rear head covering section of a somewhat resilient material and joined to the rearward extremities of said top and side sections to form a yieldable covering for the rear of the head, said resilient rear head covering section being of a length greater than the relatively unyieldable side sections of the cap to form a yield- 3 able downward extension to cover at least a portion of the neck of a wearer, side pieces secured to said side sections, said side pieces being joined to said yieldable downward extension and forming a downward extension of said side sections and also extending forwardly from said yieldable downward extension to locations adjacent to the peak of said cap to form a covering extending snugly down over the ears and sides of the face of a wearer, said side pieces and yieldable downward extension of said rear head covering section being foldable when not in use to overlie other portions of said cap, and said resilient rear head covering section and said yieldable extension thereof forming an expandable head covering unit adapted, when the cap is put on, to be stretched circumferentially of the head of the wearer, so as to fit varying head sizes while maintaining the normal appearance of the cap.

2. A cap as defined in claim 1, said rear head covering section and downward extension thereof being of knitted material having the ribs thereof running substantially vertically.

References Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,639,468 Rosenberg et al. Aug. 16, 1927 1,670,972 Martz May 22, 1928 2,698,945 Hamilton Ian. 11, 1955 2,810,913 Kennedy Oct. 29, 1957 2,869,134 Milstein Jan. 20, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 465,486 Great Britain May 7, 1937 

